Mass Effect: Strategic Advantages
by leviathan93
Summary: A story of a small merc. group based in the Mass Effect world. They work to retrieve one of the key characters of the story without even knowing exactly who it is.
1. Recolection

This sniper had talent.

Railick's head was buzzing from the impact. Turians where usually smart enough to ensure covering fire before looking for a target, but Railick's driving assaulter's must have been taking longer then expected.

One quick glance out of cover and he paid for it. It must have been a concussive shot meant to take down his shields, making him an easy target.

He pushed himself back against the small bench where he had been taking cover. He could hear his Batarian second in command barking orders over the ear comm. to his small squadron, while Railick recuperated.

Farack Del'mas was considered trash in Batarian eyes. Being thrown out of a high caste was normal if you spoke out against your higher up's. Especially if those higher up's where slavers.

Farack never talked about it be Railick knew about his past with the slavers. Railick also knew that Farack was done with them, after seeing so much pain he caused. Besides that, all that Railick needed to know was that Farack could watch his back in a firefight, and proving that over the years made Farack one of his most trusted allies.

Noticing his captain awake Farack gave the sit-rep.

"We got a sniper in the top breezeway, three commandos on the left, four on the right and 4 security mechs up front and in cover."

"Strome, and Campbell are pinned down in front of the Mechs. Lohm'Mas is moving his way up to get a good shot on the sniper, and Tareek is giving us cover."

In a flash Railick was already thinking of every scenario. Even under the constant fire of assault rifles and the sharp sound of the HMWSG sniper rifle being fired ever so often, Railick could think clearly as if he where simply in his quarters devising battle plans.

His constant thinking, and plotting was what boosted him as an officer on the Mehrnos frigate of the Citadel Fleet. He was an officer before he knew it. Always writing up new battle plans to turn into his CO, knowing they would just be filed away somewhere.

But that was ages ago. Back before he even considered leaving the fleet. Before he made this rag tag mercenary unit.

The plan seemed good enough in Railick's head, but only one way to see if it could work. Railick quickly tuned his Omni tool to all squad members. He quickly spoke to his team as a whole, making sure everyone knew their part.

Like clock work the team moved the plan in to affect. Farack started a full barrage on the snipers nest keeping him pinned down for the time being.

Tareek took this chance to move up and utilize his short distance Omni tool scrambler to immobilize the mechs. A special program the Solarian made in his spare time, being sure to boast about it every chance he could use it.

Farack took cover while reloading, which gave Railick his cue to start his own part of the plan. Moving up the alley he fired on one set of commandos, giving his driving force room to take out the others.

Normally opposites don't go well together on the battle field. This is something Railick learned plenty of times serving in the fleet. But he was proven wrong when he decided to pair a massive Krogan with a modified shotgun, and Human biotic with nothing but a pistol, and willpower.

The two where a wrecking team. Together Strome, and Campbell easily took out the right group of commandos. Using a combo of one of Campbell's singularity missiles, and Strome's quick fire shotgun the two where done in a flash and turned their attention to the security mech's that where still frozen where they stood.

Railick and Farack continued up the alley way to take cover from the final group of commandos. They continued to fire even though they where clearly surprised by the quick turn in tide of the battle. As the last shot was sounded Railick stood from his cover admiring the work of his team.

With out saying a word he moved up a small staircase, making sure not to step on the pieces of destroyed mechs while doing so. At the top of the steps he found his final team member exactly where he was told to be.

A silent Quarian named Lohm'Mas stood over the immobilized sniper. He had taken out the sniper during Farack's barrage just as instructed.

Now to figure out who this sniper worked for.


	2. Velox

Omega. Here nothing could surprise you.

One minute you could be in a full scale shoot out, and the next you could be taking a blindfolded assassin back to your ship. No one cared if you walked the streets with a Merc squad full of guns. In fact it only made you a target for someone simply shooting you in the back and taking what you had. Say what you want, but this rock has character.

Railick walked nonchalantly down the large plaza, right behind the assassin that was being pulled along by Strome. They needed to stay in a more populated area to avoid another ambush if the snipers friends decided to spring him loose. They wouldn't chance an attack with so many armed civilians around.

Railick sent the rest of the team ahead to prep the ship. He didn't want to spend any more time here then he had to. Especially since he knew someone was trying to kill them.

Approaching the ships security entrance Railick felt like he was back home. The stench of Omega melted away as he entered the narrow walk way of his ship and stale air hit his face as he took off his helmet in the detox. The recently privatized CF Velox 2nd class Frigate was under new management. Though it wasn't as luxurious as the ship Railick served in while with the 24th Fighter Class of the Citadel, the ship was reliable and one of the fastest in the galaxy.

Railick spent every credit, and favor he had on the ship. But it was small and easy to manage which made it perfect for laying low while on contracts like his current one.

Squeezing through the porthole leading to the cockpit Railick approached his pilot while Strome took the human sniper down to their holding cell to stew for a while. Tareek turned to Railick as he entered with a grim look on his face. "Problem with the docking gear. Seems like we cant leave."

Railick was taken back. They had run every diagnostic on the ship to ensure that every system was suitable. "Run a scan and get a tech to check the stations holders. Ill go…" Railick was cut off by a message coming into the cockpits main screen. Tareek started to screen the messages available info almost immediately. "I don't recognize the planetary code, and its untraceable. Want me to open it sir?"

"Yes." The message appeared on the screen, showing exactly why the Velox couldn't leave Omega.

-I don't like shootouts on my station. If you want your ship to leave anytimesoon meet me at Afterlife.

-A

"Call Farack and tell him to meet me on the platform. We'll be back in about an hour." Railick walked slowly down to the corridor to the exit platform. How could he be so stupid? Of course she knew about their presence here. It was her job to know everything that happened here. Either way it was no big set back. This mission was still salvageable. Even though Aria did have a reputation of killing any one who did "business" on Omega with out consulting her, they wouldn't have gotten the message if she wanted them dead.

He didn't have to much time to spare. He needed to get to Afterlife soon before Aria's patience ran out. Yea this rock had character.


	3. Aria

Railick mentally prepared him self as the taxi approached the plaza. He had heard a lot about Arai but had never encountered her first hand. Life on the Citadel was simple. There where crimes committed every day, but that was in secret and hardly ever heard about. Omega on the other hand was know for its crime. Aria was the most notorious person on Omega and sent for Railick herself. If she didn't want him dead then there was going to be a serious price for his life.

"We're here" grunted Farack.

Railick stepped out of the cab in to one of the largest trading wards on Omega, which was also the home of Afterlife. He tried to collect his thoughts as he approached the building.

Don't compromise the mission. Only tell her what you need to so you can get off of this rock. Make sure she knows that she needs you alive. All of these thoughts buzzed in Railicks head until they were interrupted by the sound of a coarse Batarian voice at the door.

"What's your business here Turian?"

"Arias our business" Farack replied.

The doors slid open and the two mercs continued inside. The booming sound of Asari music filled Railicks head.

They entered the clubs main floor. It was packed with all species, and all were enjoying themselves. Moving through the crowd Railick saw her. She was standing at the railing staring down at all of the people that depended on her and her connections that kept Omega running.

Then as if she had sensed him she look directly at him. A small grin appeared on her face.

Railick made his way to the small VIP section of Afterlife that held Aria.

Three armed Turians meet them at the stairs, making sure to take every weapon they had, then led them to the top of the stairs.

"So you were the ones terrorizing the streets earlier. Hmm, well I was expecting more. You don't look like much." The Asari made her dominance known to both of them as they sat down. She made it perfectly clear that they were only alive to answer her questions. "Well why don't you tell me why I should let this slip, or better yet why I shouldn't toss you out of an airlock?"

"Well we both know that you already want me alive, either because you want me to do a job or you know about the job my team is already on. You also know that me and my friend here wont go down with out a fight, and the same goes for my team on the ship. Ohh and last you know that you would get far more use out of me if you sold me to Batarian slavers instead of throwing me out of an airlock."

Aria stared with her cold eyes, and Railick stared back. Even Farack grabbed a quick glance at Railick, seeing if his captain had clearly lost his mind. He had to make her know he meant business, and this was the only way.

Railick watched her face for any sign of emotion, then finally she broke the silence.

"Well your right about all of those. I know you'd be more trouble dead then alive. But that doesent mean you could be of use to me. Why don't you tell me about this human."

Two of Aria's men pulled a lifeless body from another room on to the balcony. Railick didn't notice the dead human until he was flipped over.

Railick's mandibles flared as he finally recognized the human.

It was the entire reason he had come to Omega.

"Well I can clearly tell that you two have meet before." Aria said with an amused voice. "Why don't you tell me what you know."


	4. The Big Picture

Dead. The only contact for his one in a million contract was dead.

This human was the only reason Railick had come to Omega in the first place. He had seen him alive and well only 2 hours ago.

"Well?" Said Aria. With ruthlessness in her voice that showed no compassion for the dead man at her feet. "I tried to run an I.D. match on him but he's not a local, and he has decent enough tech. So I'm guessing he's either a merc, or an info broker. Care to shed a little light on this subject for me?"

Aria slid into a chair making herself comfortable for the event s that she knew she would hear.

"He's a contact for my current contract." Railick said with a more confidence then he actually had.

"Oh come now. We both know that this has to be more important than a regular merc mission. Why don't you tell me the whole story? Starting with who the fuck he is." Aria's eyes locked with Railick. He knew that he was going to have to tell her the entire story if he wanted to get out alive.

Railick sat forward in his seat and reached for a Holo-Pad in his armors pouch.

"We were contacted by an agent from a private sector company called Olex. We were told that they were a mining corporation in Outer Rim planets. The agent said that Olex had just found a large paladium deposit in some small time solar system. They recently developed some kind of hard-drive system that was very important to their dig site of paladium."

Railick passed the Holo-Pad to the interested Asari. It showed the body of a ship with scorch marks littered across it.

"This ship was the one transporting the hard-drive to the dig site when it was hit by teams confirm that they took the Hard-drive." Railick pointed to the dead man still at their feet. "This was my contact. Olex wanted my team to intercept the pirates and get the Hard-drive back. He gave me the last know location of the pirates."

Aria examined the Holo-Pad then looked up. "Bull shit. Why would pirates waste time on a Hard-Drive, and most of all why would Olex even want to waste money on you getting it back? They must have backed up the info before they shipped off the damn thing."

Railick let out a small chuckle.

"Well we already knew that. I had my pilot look into Olex. Extra-Net sources show nothing about them except a few small mining deals. Their profits don't add up either, so there's on way that they would be able to sustain any business on their own. They have to be a daughter company under a higher one."

"And we also looked into the Hard-Drive. If they do need us to get it back it must have data on it that can't be backed up on a regular server. This means that whatever is on the Hard-Drive it's the only copy of it. We havent been able to figure out exactly what it could be though."

Railick looked back down at his former contact. "I'm guessing this whole mission is way bigger then Olex is letting us know. But we were able to get the info from the contact before he was killed."

"After we meet with the contact we headed back to the ship when, what I'm guessing are the same thugs that killed him, attacked us."

Aria took a moment to think of the complicated story, seeing if Railick was lying or not. She stood up and walked to the rail looking out at Afterlife. "So even though you knew that Olex ' giving you all the info, and this was way bigger then you knew you still took the job?"

Railick leaned back into his seat and a very subtle smirk appeared on his face. "Well the pay was very good. Besides that I think that stupidity had alot to do with it."


	5. Compromise

Aria's back was still turned to Railick. Her lack of conversation didn't sit well with him.

He knew that she was scheming to see what she could get out of this contract. Railick already knew that there would be a price for his team and ship to leave Omega, at least alive. He just hoped it wouldn't be to much to bankrupt them.

Aria finally turned around with a devious smile on her face.

"I like you Turian. Your different from others I've meet." Aria passed a Holo-pad to Railick. "That's why I'm giving you this. Its 2 Extra-Net sources, one contacts me directly, and the other is a friend of mine that I think you might find useful."

Railick scrolled through the Holo-pads checking the encryptions to make sure they were real. "So what am I doing in return for your help?"

"Ohh what? Is there no reason I can't help you out of the goodness of my heart?" Aria said with a chuckle. "Well now that you mention it, I want status of your mission. I've heard of Olex and I know that if do this mission you'll find some pretty valuable info. So in return for my contacts you become quite a little investment to me. I will of course give you a monetary advance for the information you send me."

"However, if I don't hear from you I'll assume that you screwed me over and sent off anything you've found to the highest bidder. In that case I'll find and kill you myself. In this deal I am the only bidder."

Railick thought about it. He would have to accept if he wanted to leave alive. Besides leaving with his life he would gain a valuable Black Market buyer for his Intel. "Well then I think we have a deal." Railick said standing up reaching out to shake Arias hand.

"Good. I would have hated killing such a valuable asset." Aria shook Railicks hand and reached for her personal terminal. She quickly dialed in a code and then face Railick. "Your ship is now clear to leave." Aria said while walking off the balcony. "Ohh and I'll expect a status report every 48 hours."

Railick and Farack walked out of Afterlife waiting on the platform for the next taxi.

Farack lit up a smoke then finally broke the silence between a deep breath to calm his nerves. "So… she pretty much owns our asses doesn't she?"

A small smile grew on Railick's face. His close friends way of simplifying matters always cheered him up. "Yes it does my friend, yes it does."

Once back at the Velox Railick quickly headed up to the cockpit. "How does everything look?"

Tareek gave the answer without losing sight of the launch screen once. "We're all good boss. The lock was lifted moments before you turned your comm. back on. Stabilizers were rusty while landing but Strome gave me some help moving them. Besides that every things great. We could still use another generator so we could output more shields though…"

"Tareek just slow down!" Railick had known Tareek for a long time, and in all that time he had never known him to slow his speech at all. It was common for all Solarians to talk like that though. Always jittery and always talking a mile a minute. "Go ahead and get us air-born, we can grab a secure Extra-Net link once were out of this place."

"You got it boss." Tareek replied quickly listing authorization codes to the terminal managers in the tower. "Omega tower 13 this is CF Volex 9102 preparing for departure. Release codes sent and verified." a Turian answered from the terminal. "Roger Volex you are clear. Platform detached."

The Volex moved slowly around the bends of the old rock called Omega. Railick war relieved to finally be rid of the place. He leaned back in a chair next to Tareek, admiring the view of the station from space. From here you couldn't see all of the corruption, and murder. Those things only become visible when you down and around it, but out here it was a quiet little rock covered in metal. Things always seem more bearable from far away.


	6. Dead Intel

Silence. There was always silence in space. It was peaceful and relaxing to Railick. But still the great amount of darkness could remind anyone just how small they were. Railick was tired from his brief stay on Omega. From assassination squads to bartering with a notorious Crime-boss. He was desperate for sleep, but not now. He had to much to do.

Railick stood from the secondary seat of the cockpit, "Here's good Tareek. Have Campbell take watch for a while, you go grab something to eat. We'll head to the Mass Relay after I've had a talk with our little guest." Tareek nodded and began to shut down main generators to let the ship drift for a while.

Railick had almost forgotten about the sniper they had brought along from the shoot out on Omega. The info that Aria had offered would be valuable, but this assassin could give them a little more detail on what was really happening with Olex.

Lohm'Mas was standing outside of the snipers holding cell when Railick had gotten there. "Any word from him since we left?"

Lohm'Mas looked up from his Omni-Tool to answer "Not a sound."

"Well then lets see if we can't get a little info from our little guest." Lohm'Mas nodded and opened up the thick door to the holding cell. Railick walked in to be greeted by a dead body. The sniper lied lifeless on the cold metal floor. Lohm'Mas quickly started to scan the humans body, while Railick checked his vitals.

"What the hell happened to him?" Railick asked stunned to how this could have happened. Then he saw a small burn mark on the back of his head. Not a gun wound but a very small explosion. "Here, scan that right there."

Lohm'Mas turned his Omni-Tool towards the burn mark. After a few seconds of lingering on the mark the Omni-Tool beeped. "Military grade internal Biotic Amp. Useless with out the external piece we removed from his armor."

"Insured suicide from his employer probably. Was this done remotely?" Railick asked while looking closely at the small wound on the human. "Negative" replied the Quarian, who was still flicking through his Omni-Tool. "Timed. This man was going to die if he killed us or not."

Railick stood up. "Well this is grim. Lets get him up to the infirmary and see if we can't run some scans on where that internal wiring came from. And get me a copy of the security footage from this cell."

Lohm'Mas nodded and left. Railick leaned against the wall letting out a long sigh. He was already tired of this job and he desperately needed sleep.

Railick bent down to check the body one last time. This armor was odd. No serial numbers, manufacturing plates, or personal customization. This snipers armor was the same as his comrades who fell on Omega. Usually mercenary groups use colors or at least personalized their suits. But the armor of their attackers showed no sign of typical mercenary suits. It actually looked more like military grade armor. High in resistance but not personalized for each person.

Railick toyed with this idea in his head. Why would someone with military connections want to attack them. They hadn't been in the mercenary game long enough to make enemies. So the new question was what military wanted to stop Olex's agenda.

All the pieces fit. A shady corporation hiring a mercenary group to do its dirty work while they unwittingly steal a military colonel's weapon shipment, or something to that effect. But this seemed bigger.

He didn't trust Olex but they needed this job. And maybe if they could stick with it they would get a little dirt on Olex that was worth some cash.

But now wasn't time to worry about that. They lost one source of info so now they would have to use the one that Aria had given him. Railick headed back up the small corridor to the mess hall. "Tareek, I want us at the Relay in an hour." He barked into the small room as he passed it.

Railick thought about going over the dead mans biotic wiring with Farack but quickly remembered how tired he was. He headed straight for his modest quarters.

As he laid down the cramped single bed felt like heaven. A feeling of relaxation washed over Railick. He slowly recalled all that had happened in the day. He was surprised he had made it through alive. Railick had seen more combat today then in his first year in the Citadel fleet.

Railick's head was filled with questions. But most of all he needed to know who was behind the attack they faced on Omega, and most likely whose forces they would face again. Who had power over highly trained soldiers of different species, military grade hardware, and had the Intel to cover their tracks from both Railick and Aria?

As Railick finally started to fall asleep a single thought flashed in his head.

The Council….


	7. Realization

Railick woke up to the sound of Farack on the intercom. "We're 5 minutes out from the Relay."

He rose from his bed slowly and reluctantly. He desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but he had work to do. "Be up there in a minute." he grunted to the intercom. He rolled his neck and stretched, trying to get rid of his exhaustion. As he walked to the other side of his small Captains Quarters he ran over the Holo-pads Aria had given him.

Both were Extra-Net addresses. One contacted her, and the other was an info source that she thought could help Railick with the mission. This was the one he needed to contact now. With the sniper dead he only had the last location of the ship that stole the hard drive from Olex, and for all he knew the ship could be anywhere. He was hoping to catch them before they left the system, but he lost a lot of time while on Omega.

Railick moved out of his room to the ladder that took him to the main deck. As he walked down the corridor to the cockpit he saw half of his crew looking out of the large window in awe at the giant Mass Relay. "Quite a sight isn't she?" Railick said softly looking out at the behemoth as well.

"No matter how many times you see it, it's always that much more amazing." Campbell said staring out the window. "So, where are we off to Captain?"

"At the moment no where. I need to get in touch with a contact that might be able to give us a lead on the mystery ship that stole the hard drive." Railick sat down at one of the cockpit terminals. "Tareek open up a channel for me to contact this guy. I need an address in 982-LPS."

Tareek's fingers went to work typing in every bit of info needed to contact Arias agent. "Ok. Signals weak, most likely so the system shuts down if its being traced. Software he's using seems very nice. Processing in high speed even with signal weakened. Who ever this is, they're professional."

"So? Are we good to go?" Railick asked, knowing that Tareek had gotten lost talking about advanced technical's again. He couldn't help it, and Railick wouldn't have anyone else running his ship. Tareek just needed focus at times.

"Oh yes we are all clear Captain. Just waiting for an answer…"

A beep at the terminal signaled that the request Tareek sent was accepted. Slowly a picture appeared on the screen in front of Railick. Before the visuals could fully appear a slow, dull voice came from the monitor.

"Angered inquiry. Who are you, and why have you contacted my private number Turian?"

Suddenly the visual matched with the voice. A large Elcor lumbered in front of the monitor. He wore a tattered robe with a large visor over one eye. "Oh uhhh my name is Railick Oraka. I was sent to you by a mutual friend."

The Elcor slowly moved his visor back and forth in front of his screen sliding through info on his terminal monitor. "Inquisitive statement. Oraka? Then you are the son of General Septimus Oraka."

"Well he's my Uncle, but yes he raised me. I was actually hoping that you might help me."

"Commanding inquiry. Who gave you this address? I do not do business with strangers."

"Aria T'Loak gave it to me. She said you could help me locate a ship my team is tracking." The Elcor sat silently for a few seconds until answering.

"Regretful statement. I knew that T'Loak was going to cash in on that favor I owed her one day. Welcoming statement. My name is Morreth, and I honor my debts so I will help you, meet me at Depot Epsilon-11 in the Dranek system. Suspicious explanation. I do not trust these Extra-Net links for my personal business."

Railick preferred not to travel all the way to Dranek to do business but it couldn't be helped. He needed this Elcor to find their mystery ship. "Alright Morreth we'll contact you once we've docked." Railick said reluctantly.

"Salutation. Until then Oraka." The active screen faded back to an orange glow as the transmission ended. Railick leaned back in the terminal chair and rubbed his head. "Well I guess were going to Dranek…" Railick typed the destination in on his Omni-tool and then scanned it into the navigation terminal. Campbell leaned against the wall next to Railick. "Captain do we really need this guy? I mean we already have the location of the last station they were at."

Railick stood up and replied "Yes but by now they've already left. They wouldn't be dumb enough to stay in one place with stolen merchandise on their ship. Plus we don't even know what type of ship it is, or whose in charge of it. Maybe this Morreth can shed some light on what exactly we're dealing with."

"Yea well it still seems like a long trip just to find some paranoid Elcor." Campbell muttered.

"Well that paranoid Elcor could be our only way to find that hard drive for Olex. Tareek lets move out." Tareek pulled up manual controls for the ship and moved them into position to go through the Relay. "Campbell I need you in the infirmary. I want you to take a look at some of the biotics hardware our assassin was wearing. Tareek give me an update when we're an hour out from the depot."

Railick explained the problem to Campbell as they both walked down the hall to the infirmary. "We have internal biotics wiring on this guy but cant find a trace of where it came from. I thought that you might be able to find a manufacturer for us." The two entered and found Lohm'Mas scanning the body.

"Still no luck." Railick asked.

"Negative." Replied Lohm'Mas. "This is a fruitless effort on my part. I know nothing about biotics." Campbell brought up a chair next to the body. "Let me see any readings you've gotten so far." Campbell flicked through the limited info on the assassin. She then looked at the body, and the small burn mark. "Well this isn't manufactured by any company I know. There is always some sign of who made it, even in military grade equipment."

Railick remembered what he thought about before he fell asleep. "Campbell what type of hardware would a Spectre have?" The question clearly puzzled Campbell. "Well Spectres usually buy their own hardware, but now that you mention it there was a program that offered enhanced amps like this. A handful of Spectres used it back in the day. But you cant think that this guy was a Spectre. He went down way to easy."

Railick thought for a moment, weighing his thoughts. "No I don't think he's a Spectre. But he might have the same employer."

Lohm'Mas and Campbell both looked at him in confusion. "And what's your reasoning behind that?" Lohm'Mas asked.

"Same no-name hardware as a program run for Spectres years ago, the right type of recourses, and the ensured killing of the assassin. These people know how to cover their tracks. I think it's the Council. Olex must be up to something the Council doesn't want going public. So, they kill our contact and try to kill us."

The room fell silent. No one wanted to believe it, but Railick seemed correct. The Council was behind the attack on Olex, and they stole the hard drive from them.

"Well what now Captain?" Campbell asked.

Railick looked at the dead man on the infirmary bed in front of him. "We find out what it is The Council is trying to keep Olex from doing. And in the process, lets try and keep them from killing us too."


	8. Dark Employers

"Ok we don't need to spook Morreth with all of us showing up. He seems jumpy enough." Railick said to his team as they all sat in the cramped hull of the Velox.

They had just docked at Epsilon-11. "Strome and Tareek your coming with me to meet with him. Farack I'm leaving you in charge of the ship. Re-supply us and then wait for my word."

"You got it Captain." Farack grunted while already taking stock of what the ship was going to need on his holo-pad.

Railick and the others entered the airlock of the ship while grabbing minimum firepower off the gun rack. Just because they didn't want to scare Morreth didn't mean they had to come unprepared.

The stale air of the Velox was replaced by the cold oxygen of the station. Epsilon-11 had been a Turian run station for years, but was bought out by separate shipping corporations. It was a small station but was vital for any ship heading to the Outer Rim out of the Dranek system.

The station was a hive of constantly moving storing crates and shipping hulls. Each one going to a different part of the galaxy. There was a decent amount of people on the station, each minding their own business. The real action would be found on the central deck which held a bar or a club. Each one of these stations had one. An easy way to pull in credits off of bored and lonely ship crews.

They were close to the meeting spot when Railick pulled Strome and Tareek off to the side of the corridor. "Ok Strome I want you to hang back. Act casual and provide back-up if needed. Tareek your coming in with me." The two nodded and proceeded to the meeting spot.

It was a large lobby littered with more shipping capsules. There were plenty of Turians and Humans across the large space, but not a single Elcor to be found. Suddenly an un-armed security mech approached Railick and Tareek.

"Please proceed this way." The mech buzzed as it led the two to a large alley blocked by an even larger shipping capsule. "Please en-enter quickly." The mech said in a hollow electric voice as a door slid open from the capsule.

As Railick stepped up in to the capsule he was greeted by the largest Elcor he had ever seen. With a stature of at least 8 feet high Railick's face went blank.

"Expected Greeting. Hello Railick Oraka." Morreth boomed as he lumbered over Railick.

"Uhh hello. It's good to meet you." Railick said as Tareek stared at the large Elcore in awe, but was quickly distracted by the technology scattered around the large capsule they were now sealed in. Tareek quickly jumped from table to table looking at that magnificent bounty of technology he was surrounded by.

"This is incredible!" Tareek shouted as he scouted Morreth's dwelling.

"Pleased agreement. Yes my collection is quite enjoyable, but necessary for my business transactions." Morreth said as he slowly turned to a wall of monitors that stood behind him. Each screen had a different camera or Extra-net link up. Railick even saw the Velox pulled up on one, and Strome leaning right against a wall still in the lobby. "I can't believe this. You must have this whole place wired."

"Agreeing explanation. Yes I have quite a view of the station from here, especially thanks to my mechs. They are very useful for events that I can not attend myself." The visor over Morreth's head quickly slid down allowing his slow head to move through the screens with ease. "Inquisitive statement. I was surprised to hear that you of all people needed my help. Surely there are sources that you have with your uncle."

"Well Uncle Septimus wasn't very thrilled with my leaving of the fleet, and I'm not to sure he would use his contacts to help a Merc. Squad even if its his own nephew's." Railick said as he stared at the monitors. "So were you able to get anything from the Intel I sent you?"

"Optimistic affirmative statement. Your suspicions of Olex seem correct Railick Oraka. They are a branch from an umbrella corporation. With use of my other sources I was able to trace their origins back to a single privately owned organization." Morreth flipped to a final page on the terminal in front of him.

"Surprised statement. They have been involved in military experimentation, mass production of weapons, special mercenary ops., and biological amps and augmentation."

"Olex is actually a human rights group named Cerberus…"

* * *

**_Hey everyone. This series has been a long process so far. I've had alot of long breaks but I really want to build a fan base. So please give me feed back! Negative or Positive reviews are always welcome! I need to know what the community thinks so far. Theres plenty of story left for this series and even more for the group so keep your eye open for updates to the story. Thanks for reading!_**


	9. Luck

Railick's eyes widened at the thought of who they had been working for this entire time. All the pieces seemed to be there. The shady contacts, and the lack of information. Cerberus was up to something big and the council wanted it stopped. But what was it?

"Are we sure that it's Cerberus?" Railick asked anxiously.

"Ensured affirmative statement. I would not be very good in my line of business if I was not sure about this Railick Oraka." Morreth said in his deep voice. "Informative statement. And as for the squad that stole the hard drive from Olex, or Cerberus, I believe I have found them."

"Already?" Tareek yelled from across the small room. "I've had processors running on the ship trying to pick up their docking records ever since we left Omega. Even with all of your tech. there's no way that you have already found them. I mean the countless amounts of possible planets or systems they could have gone to…"

"Entertained chuckle. The task is quite easier when they land on the very station that your base of operations is on." Morreth uttered in his odd elcor laugh.

"Wait…" Railick said almost stunned "They're here? On this station?" Morreth nodded then slowly turned towards his wall of monitors. "Explanation. It was simply a stroke of luck. After I received the basic evaluation of your contract and mission I was able to decipher what type of ship attacked Olex's freighter and stole the hard drive."

"After running a usual scan of the ships that dock with the station I found an unusual one."

Morreth flicked through the scattered information on his wall until an image of a large ship appeared. It had a partially damaged hull, probably from the attack on the Olex vessel, but was already being repaired. It was a large black and silver ship with 'Cronos 131' on the side of it.

"Informative statement. After back tracking the ships last few stops, illegally of course, I was able to confirm that this was the same ship that attacked your employers vessel. Regretful statement. I was however not able to gain any information about the crew, cargo, or destination."

Railick stared at the ship through the monitor. The big cash prize they had been looking for was right in front of him. "What docking port is this at?" Railick asked. "Informative statement. Docking bay B-12." Morreth replied.

"Ok. We need to get to work." Railick said while contemplating every step they would need to take in his head. "Morreth, thank you for your help. We are in your debt." Railick said. "Joyful reply. Lets just hope I am out of Aria's." Morreth replied.

"Salutation. It has been a pleasure working with you Railick Oraka. I hope that you gain what you are looking for." Morreth said as he let the two out of the sealed transportation capsule. "Thank you." Railick said as the door closed back shut on the massive elcor.

Right now Railick was deep in thought. As they met with Strome, Railick opened the team comm. "Alright everyone back to the ship. We've got business."

Walking back to the ship Railick could only think of how he should proceed. With so many variables to account for he couldn't think clearly. But once he got to the ship he knew he would be able to pull a plan together.

But right now he could revel in the stroke of tactical luck they had gained.

Surprise was on their side.

* * *

**_Well here is a quick chapter for the story. I had to get some of the details out of the way so that I could get a good action sequence going. I tried re-writing it several times but this was the best way I could come out with it. Not my favorite chapter, but hopefully it will fill in some of the missing pieces for the reader. As always I'm open to all feed back. Tell me what you think and I'll be sure to work on it. Thanks for reading._**


	10. Heavy Hands

Trask took in a deep breath as the hallex filled his blood stream. All of his senses seemed to heighten as he pulled the two thin tubes out of his thin wrist. This was a special brew he had to make for himself. Being a Salarian Trask's metabolism burned through regular hallex soon after he picked up the habit. His arm started to steady as the drug spread through his body.

There was a beep at the door terminal and a low voice spoke through the intercom. "Sir we are almost ready for departure. The captain wanted to make sure you were ready to go."

Slowly folding up his tubes and putting away his hallex Trask opened the door. He found a human looking up at him from the door. "I'm the one who told the captain we didn't need to stop on this scrap heap for repairs. We could have made the trip there and back twice now if we had stayed on course. So tell the captain I've been ready and get us out of here before some dock security guard starts asking for cargo reports."

Not knowing what to say the man simply yelled "Yes sir!" and quickly moved down the corridor to get as far away from the Salarian as soon as possible.

Trask smirked with enjoyment. He always had that effect on people, even if they didn't know who he was yet, he was an intimidating figure. He stood tall, with dark scars running down his neck and under his chest plate. He got the scars from a ritual common to Vorcha, used to prove the ferociousness of a warrior. They would run knifes down their chest until they couldn't take the pain. Of course Vorcha have very thick skin and the scars would never stick, but on a Salarian's thin skin the scars stained the body for life. Trask never did fit in as a "normal" Salarian though. Instead of the study of genetic sequences of intergalactic mammals, or bio-chemistry of Salarian metabolism Trask chose to focus on the science of warfare.

Crouching by his bed he opened the large food locker and found his muse.

He slowly slid his hand over the gun and pulled it out, cradling it between his shoulder and hand. The gun seemed light to him. He could lift the barrel to the perfect height and support the butt of the gun without a problem. The original TK2 Jarvis was made for long distance heavy mech shots. The production was halted however due to the hydraulic system, which needed to prevent major recoil in a mech's appendage. Exposed hydraulics in a combat area was extremely dangerous and armoring for it would simply slow the mech down more. So the gun plan was scrapped and the prototypes were sold off for parts or destroyed. Trask was able to hunt one down and add his own modifications to it. The 4 ½ foot long barrel of the gun was filed down some, and a custom stock and sight were added for only manual use. He also had a shoulder receiver constructed so that he could handle the massive amount of force the gun put back. The TK2 Jarvis could slice through the defenses of any Human, Salarian, or Turain force. Trask could take down a Krogan chief from two miles away and be gone before he hit the ground. Trask hadn't had the chance to even use his prized gun on this job.

The target was a large sealed shipping container from some mining company. Trask was hired by his employer to take out any protection the shipment had, and supervise the safe transportation of the package until it was delivered to an undisclosed location they would receive once they got out of the Outer Rim.

Trask's transport would be with the extraction team that was hired separately. They would be providing the transport on the frigate 'Cronos 131'. They were privately owned mercs but they were professional. None of them let on to who they worked for but Trask knew they were working for the employer full time. This job must have been important to them to hire a professional sniper to assist a group of commandos. The captain of the Cronos, Captain Dakavin, received last minute word that the package had already left the instructed pick up site. So instead of ambushing the shipment at its original destination they were forced to take down the crew of the transporting frigate and steal the package mid-flight. Dakavin demanded that the Cronos be repaired after the battle, though the damages were minor.

Trask was ready for the end of the mission. They were almost done with repairs and close to delivering the package. Once they were out of the Dranek system they could head straight for Citadel space, and turn in their prize.

The gun suddenly became heavy in Trask's hands. The hallex was wearing off. Trask's eyes turned dull as he put the gun away and sealed the footlocker. He was getting too old for the life of a mercenary. Almost 39 years old it was a miracle that Trask was still alive, knowing the life style he had. He slowly sat down on his bed and looked at his hands which started to shake slightly at the loss of the hallex. His shoulder brought back the dull pain it had gained over the years that hallex always seemed to dull. Trask knew he didn't have much time left to do jobs like this. Salarian life expectancy was low enough with their high metabolism, and he should have been enjoying his twilight years resting.

Then again there's nothing more dangerous than a dying animal…

**_First chapter in a while, hope I didn't disappoint. New character addition to add up to a nice action sequence I've got planned. Any comments, or reviews are still welcome. Tell me what you think so far and I'll be sure to work on it. Thanks for reading!  
_**


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